This disclosure generally relates to gas turbine engines, and more particularly to controllable inlet guide vanes for a gas turbine engine.
Gas turbine engines typically include at least a compressor section, a combustor section and a turbine section. During operation, air is pressurized in the compressor section and mixed with fuel in the combustor section for generating hot combustion gases. The hot combustion gases flow through the turbine section which extracts energy from the hot combustion gases to power the compressor section.
Gas turbine engines also typically include an inlet section that directs incoming airflow into the compressor section for compression. The design of the inlet section, especially on high performance military aircraft, can effect the communication of the airflow into the compressor section.
For example, in some gas turbine engine applications, there may be a significant component of the airflow that is non-parallel to the inlet section. This non-parallel component may cause distortion of the airflow as it enters the inlet section. Distorted airflow has a non-uniform pressure and pressure swirl. Inlet sections that receive airflow having relatively high amounts of distortion may cause reduced engine stability and reduced performance.